Faculty Credentialing Procedures
SUBJECT: Blinn College Faculty Credentialing Procedures
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 09, 2021, October 6, 2022
BOARD POLICY REFERENCE: DBA
Purpose
The Blinn College District adheres to the guidelines set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and the Higher Education Coordinating Board regarding the minimum academic credentials for all full-time and part-time faculty:
- The minimum qualifications to teach academic transfer courses are a master’s degree or higher with eighteen graduate hours from an accredited institution in the teaching field.
- The minimum qualifications to teach developmental courses in reading, writing, and math are a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution with a major or minor in the teaching field.
- The minimum qualifications for faculty teaching associate degree courses not designed for transfer to the baccalaureate degree are a bachelor’s degree in the teaching discipline, or associate’s degree and demonstrated competencies in the teaching discipline.
The College District recognizes that qualifications other than academic credentials may be appropriate for teaching particular courses. In these cases, qualifications may include a combination of the following:
- Verified related work experience in the discipline
- Professional licensure and certifications
- Honors, awards, or continued documented excellence in teaching
- Demonstrated competencies and achievements related to the course's learning outcomes
Credentialing standards other than the above described require completion of the fields “Justification of Faculty Qualifications Crosswalk” in PeopleAdmin as well as thorough documentation under the “Supporting Documents” section of the hiring proposal.
Requirements
SACSCOC requires that original transcripts demonstrating that faculty meet the guidelines for minimum credentials be on file at Blinn College. Unofficial transcripts are required when applying for all faculty positions. Applicants who are offered full-time or part-time employment to teach academic courses at Blinn College must submit official transcripts documenting all college and university courses and degrees.
For a complete list of the specific minimum requirements for each program, refer to the Blinn College Faculty Credentialing Table.
The Blinn College District Faculty Credentialing Table will be updated annually by the first Friday in April.
Credentialing Procedures
The following processes must be followed to ensure that all faculty employed at Blinn College meet or exceed the minimum academic credentials required to teach:
- The hiring manager will utilize the Blinn College District’s Faculty Credentialing Table to review transcripts during the hiring process to ensure applicants have the required credentials. Any applicant who does not have the required credentials will be removed from the applicant pool.
- The hiring manager will complete a hiring proposal in PeopleAdmin once a finalist has been selected by the hiring committee. It is the hiring manager’s responsibility to verify that the appropriate degree and hours for the specific teaching discipline are compatible with accreditation standards and that the finalist has indeed graduated with minimum credentials for the required discipline. A graduation date must be visible on the transcript. The field “Faculty Credentialing Evaluation Summary” in PeopleAdmin must include the following:
- Complete all fields under “Education.”
- A list of courses that faculty will be teaching.
- A list of at least 18 graduate hours in the teaching field including course prefix, course number, and the title of all graduate courses related to the teaching discipline (for academic transfer programs). A definition of all course prefixes for the candidate’s graduate work should accompany this list.
- The proper selection under “Justification” for either academic transfer or WECM courses.
- The hiring manager will also request that the finalist submit all official transcripts to the appropriate academic dean at the finalist’s expense. Official transcripts may be submitted by email or in a sealed envelope from the degree-granting institution.
- The appropriate academic dean will certify that the finalist is credentialed for the specific teaching discipline and the hiring proposal will move forward to the appropriate Vice Chancellor for review and approval.
- Once received, the academic dean will deliver all official transcripts to the Academic Affairs Office.
- The division operations coordinator/administrative assistant will enter the courses and degrees completed along with a copy of the official transcripts into the Strategic Planning Online (SPOL) program.
- The appropriate member(s) of division leadership (department head/coordinator/director/assistant dean) will review the faculty member’s courses and degrees from the official transcripts and then generate a Credentialing Certificate in SPOL.
- The Academic Dean will review and approve the faculty member’s Credentialing Certificate in SPOL.
- Faculty will be credentialed for all courses assigned to them and may be re-reviewed in the event of a new teaching assignment.
Foreign Transcripts
Official transcripts from institutions outside the United States must be translated and evaluated by a recognized credential evaluation service. The employee is responsible for costs associated with these services. The translated/evaluated transcripts are to be mailed directly to the appropriate academic dean from the credential evaluation service.
A list of suggested Credential Evaluation Services is as follows:
Foreign Credentials Services of America
1910 Justin Lane
Austin, TX 78757
512-459-8428
Global Credential Evaluators
P.O. Box 9203
College Station, TX 77844
409-690-8912
Inlingua Translation Services
3818 Spicewood Springs Rd., Suite 300
Austin, TX 78759
512-794-8789
International Academic Credential Evaluators, Inc.
P.O. Box 2528
Denton, TX 76202
817-383-7498
SpanTran Educational Services, Inc.
7211 Regency Square Blvd., Suite 205
Houston, TX 77036
713-266-8805